Alton Towers to close Thi3teen rollercoaster on Friday 13

Alton Towers is to close its terrifying new rollercoaster Thi3teen on Friday,
August 13, after research suggested people would not ride on it for
supersticious reasons.

Alton Towers' terrifying rollercoaster Thi3teenPhoto: MARTIN POPE

7:30AM BST 24 Jul 2010

An online poll carried out among 1,111 adults revealed that one in 10 Britons would not risk taking a white knuckle rollercoaster ride on Friday the 13th.

The findings also showed that 31.6 million people in Britain - around half the population - are superstitious.

A third of those questioned admitted changing their behaviour on Friday 13 because they considered the day unlucky.

Morwenna Angove, sales and marketing director at the Staffordshire theme park, said: "Our research has revealed that Britons are a seriously superstitious bunch, and as our latest ride is named after the unluckiest of numbers, we've taken the decision to close that ride on Friday 13 to reassure our visitors.

"The rest of the Alton Towers resort will, of course, be open for business as usual for braver guests."

Around 60 per cent of people taking part in the survey thought breaking mirrors and walking under ladders brought bad luck, making them the most widely-held superstitions.

Surprisingly, people aged 16 to 34 were the most superstitious age group.

Professor Bruce Hood, an expert on superstition from the University of Bristol, said: "There is little evidence that superstitions have declined over the past 10 years and indeed recent studies show they increase in times of economic recession. People don't like to tempt fate."